McQueen for a day

kristin tillotson

Not a KARE bear

One of the reasons Seth Meyers came to the Twin Cities Tuesday was to shoot promotional ads for "Late Night With Seth Meyers," which debuts on NBC in February. But somebody forgot to give him notes on local lingo. When it came time to plug the MSP affiliate, he pronounced it "K-A-R-E 11." He was quickly informed that the Golden Valley-based station pronounces it "care." "Really?" said the bemused "Saturday Night Live" anchor. "We've been to a lot of stations. You guys are very unique."

Neal Justin

Cheer up

During their otherwise literary and lofty discussion at Magers & Quinn bookstore recently, Minneapolis novelist Louise Erdrich and New York book critic/editor John Freeman occasionally strayed into the world of athletics — something Freeman knows a lot about, and Erdrich perhaps not quite as much. She did let slip the fact that in high school in Wahpeton, N.D., she had been a wrestling cheerleader, and Freeman's eyes lit up. "What did you wear?" he asked. "Did it involve singlets?" It did not, Erdrich said. And she and the other cheerleaders were not allowed to do the splits, which were considered not only unseemly, but possibly immoral.

Laurie Hertzel

King of First Avenue

The eight shows sold out instantly on Tuesday. Funnyman Dave Chappelle, who famously quit his Comedy Central show in 2005 and has been doing standup gigs ever since, will perform two shows nightly for four days, starting Monday, at First Avenue in Minneapolis. The 40-year-old funnyman, who has been doing these "pop up" concerts across the country, last performed in the Twin Cities in August 2012 at the State Theatre — a similarly late-announced gig that quickly sold out. Capacity for the First Ave shows will be capped at about 500. Chappelle's eight-gig engagement is a record for any act at First Avenue, which opened in 1970. Two local hip-hop crews held the old mark. Atmosphere did eight shows total in the 7th Street Entry in 2005 but one was a private event. In 2011, Doomtree did eight performances for Blowout VII if you include the after-party in the Entry on the final night.

British Director Steve McQueen poses for photographs during a photo call for the film, 12 Years A Slave, as part of the 57th BFI London Film Festival, at a central London hotel, Friday, Oct. 18, 2013. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP) ORG XMIT: MIN2013110617065972

Rohan Preston

CD for Slim

The two-disc, 28-track "Songs for Slim" collection — titled "Rockin' Here Tonight" — will be available Tuesday to benefit former Replacements guitarist Slim Dunlap. It opens with the tune that kicked off the series of 7-inches, "Busted Up," and ends with a version of "Love Lost" by the West Saugerties Ale & Quail Club, featuring none other than John Sebastian of Lovin' Spoonful fame. The package includes all 18 tracks issued in the auction-only singles series, featuring Dunlap covers by the likes of Jeff Tweedy, Jakob Dylan, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Curtiss A and Frank Black with the Suicide Commandos. The second CD features 10 more unreleased Slim tributes from, among others, Soul Asylum, Chan Poling (the Suburbs), Peter Holsapple (dB's), Frankie Lee and Gary Louris. Former 'Mats drummer Chris Mars contributes cover art as well as his self-released tribute to Slim, "When I Fall Down," and two of Dunlap's kids offer "Two by Two." The $15 set will be available only on CD for now, with all proceeds going to Dunlap's ongoing home-care following his severe stroke in February 2012.

Chris Riemenschneider

Art: a real treat

Last weekend's One Day University brought hundreds of one-day students to the Minneapolis Convention Center to hear lectures by top college instructors. I.W. was drawn to "Five Paintings Every Art Lover Should See" by Tina Rivers of Columbia University in New York. She was still visibly jazzed about her Oct. 31 visit to Walker Art Center, which she'd wanted to visit for a decade. "Halloween is my favorite holiday, but this was better." She also went to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Oh, and the five paintings? Jan Van Eyck's "The Arnolfini Portrait," Raphael's "The School of Athens," a kingly Rembrandt self-portrait from 1658, Manet's "A Bar at the Folies Bergère" and Jackson Pollock's "Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist)."

Marci Schmitt